Dark grunts (AoC Universe)
The '''Dark Grunts '''were a race of humanoids pre-dating the night elves by a matter of decades. They are now believed extinct, as Chieftain Lak'jin Lockjaw was defeated at Old Caverns by the night elves under General Faena Shadowsong. Origins Partially evolved by the natural magics of the Midnight Glade, but not fully transformed, the grunts fled the Glade when they realised what it was doing to their bodies and lived in subterreanean solitude for the next thousands of years, settling in the old Vigrith Caverns under the cover of pitch darkness. The dark grunts were very jealous of the night elves and their city, Nythsandr, as well as the civilisation they had built around the Glade and their deep connection to both Moon and Wild God power. Determined to destroy all they cared for, Seeker Lak'jin Lockjaw (their leader) burnt down approximately 8% of the Midnight Glade in the Day of Darkness raid, where he led his dark grunts to sunder the forest - his forces were chased away by the Wild Gods led by Fenrir and Shadowmane, and the Warden Shadowsong even managed to capture one of these grunts for interrogation. Realising the motive behind their attack, the High Priestess of the Moon - Lylandris Skyweaver - supervised the creation of the night elf Sentinel Army in response to the warmongering of Lockjaw and his grunts. The new commander of the Sentinels was Shadowsong herself, and despite limited numbers, she soon secured a wave of important victories over the dark grunts, culminating in their utter defeat at the Old Caverns when she tricked Lak'jin into abandoning his strategic position and chasing after her "retreating" forces. The battle left the dark grunts at the mercy of the night elves. Skyweaver chose not to have them all brutally slaughtered (as they deserved), but rather imprisoned below Moonhowl Mount, Fenrir's territory, where they would serve the eternal sentence for vandalism. Trivia *General Shadowsong often referred to the dark grunts as "bastard trolls". The level of truth in her statement is dubious, and by her own admission, it was more of an insult than an actual description of the people. **Then again, the burning down of sacred trees in the Midnight Glade would have provoked understandable outrage from the night elves, particularly the conservative/moderate conservative types like Shadowsong. **Shadowsong's use of the term was controversial. More liberal night elves felt the term was offensive towards those who the night elves share a common link to, even bordering on racism. Shadowsong herself made it a point to show how little she cared about the feelings of those whom she may have offended with her comments, and her usage of the slur increased. *Archdruid Evenshade refers to the grunts, especially their leader Lak'jin Lockjaw, as 'warmakers'. This may or may not have been a reference to Tarantulon, the Arachni's greatest general, who was also known as the 'Warmaker' after his crushing of the forest trolls. **The night elves appeared around -13,000, with the settlement of Nythsandr being built in -12,989. The Battle of Everwood Forest was in -18,496. This suggests that Evenshade was either not alive during the Arachni-Troll War, or too young to remember it fully. Category:Races Category:Aeon of the Champion articles Category:Aeon of the Champion races Category:Smurf Manian's articles